Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens
In 2015,Star Wars : The Force Awakenssuccessfully launched the continuation trilogy - but it did so in a mode that ultimately harmed the franchise . Disney bought Lucasfilm from George Lucasin October 2012 , and the continuation trilogy was intended to be the jewel inStar Wars ' crest . Lucas had once again begun work on the continuation ahead of the acquisition , patently hoping the scripts would increase the value ofStar war , but Disney passed on his ideas and began to work on their own sequels instead . The solvent was a subsequence trilogy that was very different to anything Lucas would have made , and in initial interviews he was a little too free-spoken about his disappointment .
One affair that was n’t disappointing , though , was the marketing . Disney recognise the importance of engaging with the fanbase , and set out promoting the film from the moment its plaster bandage assembled for a first read - through of the scripts . The trailer emphasized the horse sense of nostalgia - " Chewie … we ’re home , " Harrison Ford ’s Han Solo declare in the first drone , verbalize for spectator . The campaign was a phenomenal success , withStar Wars : The Force Awakensbreaking $ 2 billionin the global box spot . alas , it also set the enfranchisement down a route that would lead to failure .
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The Force Awakens' Marketing Worked Perfectly To Bring Star Wars Back
It ’s promiscuous to forget how difficult a challenge Disney look in trying to fetch backStar Wars . The fanbase had been burn up by the prequel trilogy , and remain bitterly divided . Disney ’s ownership ofStar Warswas itself controversial , with many fearfulStar Warswould turn a loss its essential character . Former Disney CEO Bob Iger defendedStar war : The Force Awakensin his autobiographyThe Ride of a Lifetime ; " Looking back with the perspective of several years and a few more Star Wars movie , " he noted , " I believe J.J. [ Abrams ] achieved the well-nigh - impossible , creating a sodding bridgework between what was and what was to fare . "
selling for theStar Warssequel trilogybegan with a direction on nostalgia , encouraging viewers to think that they - like Han Solo - were in the end come back to their dear galaxy far , far off . Everything seemed so conversant ; the rolling Sand of Jakku in place of Tatooine , the stormtroopers of the First Order endure before a standard reminiscent of the Empire ’s , a mysterious masked scoundrel . Lucasfilm deliberately peppered the selling with secrets , secret they believe audiences would be eager to solve . " Who are you , " Maz Kanata ’s representative involve over a glance of Rey . Kylo Ren ’s genuine identity operator was the biggest secret of them all , although his very name served as a hint ; " Kylo " is derived from the Latin “ Caelum ” which means “ sky , " a major clue he ’s part of the Skywalker linage . So many ofJ.J. Abrams ' trademark " Mystery Boxes"were set up .
The Force Awakens' Marketing Made The Sequels Mystery Box Problems Bigger
Unfortunately , the marketing forStar state of war : The Force Awakenshad an unforeseen effect . There were too many Mystery Boxes , too many unanswered questions , and Lucasfilm had no melodic theme which ones would resonate with viewers . output onStar war : The Last Jedihad in reality begun beforeStar Wars : The Force Awakensreleased , and Rian Johnson ’s script was dismissive of so many questions audience would prove to be profoundly clothe in . He was uninterested in Supreme Leader Snoke , and so summarily shoot down him off . His result to the query of Rey ’s identity operator - that she was a nobody - fly in the case of a thousand fan - theories stirred up byStar state of war : The Force Awakens ' merchandising . A backlash was inevitable .
Disney Re-Using Force Awakens' Marketing Made Last Jedi’s Backlash Worse
Thetrailers forStar Wars : The Last Jediserved only to encourage this backlash . These mirrored the overture that had been used forStar war : The Force Awakens , attempting to carry on as many mysteries as potential , and they go bad to prepare audiences for the pivots that would be coming under Johnson . Worse still , they made the film find like a menace toStar Wars , rather than a continuation of the story ; Kylo Ren ’s nefarious diatribe that Rey should let the past dice was commit alongside Luke Skywalker ’s blue proposition it was meter for the Jedi to finish . Even the title became a subject of argumentation , because it was indecipherable whether it referred to a odd " Last Jedi " or the factual end of the intact Jedi Order . The same selling techniques that worked so well forStar Wars : The Force Awakensfailed forStar Wars : The Last Jedi .
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It does n’t facilitate that thesequels wasted the interpersonal chemistry between the part . Relationships have always been key inStar Wars ; marketing forStar Wars : The Force Awakenshad emphasise this , with myriad shot of Daisy Ridley , John Boyega , and Oscar Isaac together . The handwriting had failed to carry through this hope , however , and it had finish with Rey travel alone to the distant world of Ahch - To . Johnson had to pick up his tarradiddle with Rey divide from her champion , and he made the unwise decisiveness of further dividing the squad , with Finn expire off on his own foreign mission to Canto Bight . Lucasfilm ’s marketing for the entire subsequence trilogy increasingly felt like a fount of mis - merchandising .
Disney’s Spoiler-phobic Marketing Hurt The Rise Of Skywalker
The trailers forStar Wars : The Rise of Skywalkerfollowed the same format , even though it was no longer working . Thesetrailers are generally seen as dissatisfactory , again trying to hold in as many spoilers as potential and failing to sell the film as a solution . The first dawdler disclose Emperor Palpatine had come back , and naturally spectator get to speculate about how he ’d follow back from the dead . In the last , the movie itself does n’t care at all about that motion , dismiss it with a throwaway personal line of credit that " Somehow , Palpatine returned . " This is the trouble with Mystery Box merchandising ; sometimes mass focus on the wrong question , the one the marketers were n’t actually interested in , and as a resultant they ’re deep discomfited with the finished product .
Star Wars : The lift of Skywalker ’s trailers seek to evoke a firm emotional connection with the film , propose the main persona were close friends . There was a curious focus onC-3PO ’s arc inStar war : The rising slope of Skywalker , with the droid say he wanted one last aspect at his friends - a credit line that would have been far more powerful had C-3PO ever spent enough time with the other characters to actually feel as though they were his supporter in the first spot . The marketing section knew certain picture should carry emotional weight , and they pushed them as much as they could , but the emotion were unearned . looker knew this , and failed to respond to them .
The marketing forStar warfare : The Force Awakenswas absolutely perfect . This is perfectly demonstrated by the fact the film grossed over $ 2 billion worldwide . But Lucasfilm made the fault of repeating the same approach with the next two moving picture , and it backfired . Hopefully Lucasfilm will learn from this mistake , and quash doing it again .
Next : Star Wars Is Finally make You Care About Force Awakens ' New Coruscant
